Hermione Granger and the Surprise Editor
by Andromeda797
Summary: As punishment for previous misdemeanours, Draco must help Hermione on the student paper. What fun and fluff there shall be in this unwilling pairing - romance blooms as the two investigate a mysterious and dangerous mudblood-kidnapping cult. Slight AU, Dramione, around GoF time but little mention of the book's events.
1. Chapter 1

All characters within this work and the Harry Potter universe are the sole property of J. K. Rowling. By using them below, I am in no way trying to claim them as my own.

* * *

'Sometimes I wonder if you two do this deliberately to vex me,' McGonagall said scathingly, firmly avoiding the gaze of the two students in front of her by filing papers in her desk. She let out an exasperated sigh and straightened, folding her hands on her lap. 'How many times have I pulled you in here for practicing inappropriate magic in the corridors? On one another, no less!' She shook her head slightly. 'Five times?'

'Just four, I think,' Harry answered, sullen. McGonagall pursed her lips,

'And are you going to tell me your wand simply had the uncontrollable desire to see Mr. Malfoy as a teapot, Potter?'

'Um...'

'Because it didn't fly when Sirius tried it,' she held up one finger threateningly, 'so it won't fly now.'

'Yes, Professor McGonagall.' Draco, who had stood motionless a firm two feet from Harry, now narrowed his eyes at his obeisance.

'I will not have you two duelling in the corridors any longer. In the hope that this message will finally sink in, we are going to have to be slightly more creative with your punishments.' Harry's eyes widened, and he noticed Draco look equally uncomfortable beside him. 'My decision has had full backing of both Dumbledore, and...' she paused to hold up a hand, silencing Draco's instant protests, 'Professor Snape.' She leant back into the desk chair, surveying their reactions - Harry looked resigned, whilst Draco maintained an aloof pout. 'As you are both so determined to interfere with one another's lives, I believe it's about time you got the full experience.'

'What?' Harry blurted, horrified.

'Potter, you'll find your punishment outside my classroom. You will accompany Professor Snape down to the dungeons, where you will meticulously reorganise and catalogue his potions cupboards. It should only take about a month.' She paused, letting this sink in, then continued, 'You may leave now.' He bowed his head and left, shooting a quick look of hatred to the oblivious Draco. Upon opening the classroom door, he was confronted by a sight he feared - Professor Snape stood tall and brooding, arms crossed, while an uncomfortable-looking Hermione waited in his shadow. McGonagall raised her hand in welcome, gesturing for Hermione to enter.

'Ah, Miss Granger, if you would come in now.' Hermione obeyed, shuffling past Snape and to the end of McGonagall's desk. She cast a wary glance at Draco, and found herself edging sideways to the exact position that Harry had just stood. 'Miss Granger, I have decided to finally take action on your desire for a second features role to be opened up within the school paper.' Hermione smiled shyly, until McGonagall gestured towards Draco. He blinked, uncomprehending.

'But...' He began to protest.

'I have been more than happy with the level of writing in your Transfiguration essays, and have conversed with your other teachers. A sample of this writing is for you, Miss Granger. I'm sure you'll find a place for him.' She reached within a pile of papers on her desk and unearthed a thick scroll of old essays, which she then passed to Hermione. 'Malfoy, you will work in partnership with Miss Granger for a minimum of two articles in the student paper. If you refuse to co-operate, your punishment will instead be extended to two months' work with Hagrid, maintaining the grounds.' Draco didn't look happy, but gave a brisk nod in defeat. 'You might even enjoy it, and stay on at the paper.'

'Fat chance,' he mumbled under his breath. McGonagall's eyes narrowed.

'I think you ought to get started right away, Miss Granger, if you please.' Hermione nodded in a similar manner, her expression betraying the annoyance she felt at being saddled with Malfoy. She turned on her heel and went to exit the classroom, determined to walk at least three paces faster than him. _If he can't keep up_ , she reasoned, _then I don't have to deal with him_.

He finally caught up with her a hundred yards from the classroom, in a deserted hallway.

'You know, I don't like this any better than you do,' he admitted, moving at a slow jog. Hermione ignored the comment and didn't cease walking until they had both ascended a pair of staircases, and turned at the second-left corridor. She stopped outside of a thick, worm-eaten door, decorated by a tarnished bronze plaque. 'This,' she said pointedly, 'is the office of the _Wizarding Student Times_ , a most prestigious...'

'And boring,' Draco interrupted. Hermione managed to scowl whilst continuing her speech.

'A most **prestigious** school newspaper, which has been run independently by the students for the past two hundred years. Our efforts on this paper continue a long and well-respected legacy, with a long list of influential alumni having passed through our doors.' Draco rolled his eyes and Hermione took a step forward, placing a finger threateningly under his chin. 'My time as editor of this paper is my key extra-curricular work for future applications to the top wizarding universities. If you, in any way, during your very brief stop at this paper ruin my efforts and tarnish this legacy, just you watch Malfoy. I'll finish Harry's work.' Draco smirked, as if this were some great sport.

'I heard you finish his homework and... _other things_ , already.' The comment was laced with innuendo, and Hermione's attempt at bad girl faltered. She let the façade slip and turned her back on him to unlock the door. It swung open with a heavy, promising creak, and if Hermione had turned back she would have noticed the curiosity on Draco's face. The room revealed only darkness. Hermione fumbled in her robes for a wand, and jumped at the whispered ' _Lumos_ ,' by her ear. A small ball of swirling green and blue light buzzed past her ear to the centre of the room, where it pulsed to almost ten times the size, lighting the entire space. Revealed were three dusty desks, with cobwebs stretching between stacks of books, old candles and scrolls. An unidentified ghost sat at one of these desks, distinctly snoozing with a ghostly newspaper covering their face. The fourth desk, pushed against the wall, was the only clean and orderly one of the lot. A neat stack of books sat on one corner, decreasing in size to a leather edition no more than an inch wide. A combination of photos, magical and not, were affixed to the adjacent wall. Draco sneered at seeing a grinning Harry and Ron fly across a ramshackle garden, and walked further into the room to investigate the others. He tugged at one non-magical photo, which showed a static Hermione atop a four-wheeled metal contraption.

'What's this?' He asked, distaste tinged by a hint of curiosity. Hermione propped open the door with a cracked cauldron, then took a few steps forward to look over Draco's shoulder.

'Oh, that's when I learnt to ride a bike.'

'A bike,' Draco repeated, the word strange in his mouth.

'They usually just have two wheels,' Hermione shrugged, 'the other two are only temporary until you learn to balance. It's a way to get around places.' Draco dropped the picture onto the desk, shaking his head.

'For _muggles_ , maybe.' Hermione's scowl returned.

'Yes, well, those "silly" muggles are your first assignment.'

'What?'

'You can write the ten facts piece, for page four. We're tying it in with the Muggle Studies exam next month, while student interest has peaked.'

'... No, seriously. What?' She folded her arms, determined to not bend with her decision.

'Our muggle research materials were a little lacking, so I brought in some extra from home. There's a whole box of magazines and books for you to peruse and find your facts.'

'Not necessary,' Draco leant on the edge of Hermione's desk, looking almost smug.

'Not necessary?' Hermione repeated in disbelief.

'I could write it with my eyes closed.'

'Oh, really?'

'Yeah. Fact one: muggles are a crude species, who without magic scrape by a pathetic existence riding on bikes...' Hermione felt a bubble of anger rise up in her chest. 'And... ah...' the smug grin began to falter, as he racked his brains for another fact. Triumph came seconds later: 'and eating beans.' The bubble burst, and Hermione found herself laughing, while the aloof Draco appeared horrified that his words had inflicted mirth and not pain.

'You have a lot of reading to do, Malfoy. The box is there,' she pointed to a dog-eared cardboard box under her desk, marked _'Granger Dental Practice'_. 'Take what you need and then leave. I want the article either handed to me or on my desk before the next meeting, which is 7 pm, Friday. Make sure you show up to the meeting.'

'Or what?' He sneered.

'Or I'll make sure that Hagrid has you cleaning out the thestrals. Just think, Malfoy, if you can't see them... what else can't you see?' Hermione smiled, and Draco was taken aback by the sudden excitement which rose in his abdomen in response. She leant closer to him, removing a quill from her desk, then turned on her heel to leave. He sat there longer, savouring the scent left behind without realising - a combination of old books and spearmint toothpaste. A snore from the resident ghost quickly snapped him out of the thought, and horrified he brushed down his robes, trying to remove the memory


	2. Chapter 2

All characters and the Harry Potter universe are the sole property of J. K. Rowling. By using them below, I am in no way claiming them as my own.

* * *

Draco glanced up from his notebook at the sound of laughter in the doorway. Ron Weasley stood under the bronze door plaque reading ' _Wizarding Student Times, Ed. H. Granger_ ', his hands buried deep in his robes, while a blushing Hermione stood next to him. Draco slammed the notebook closed and leant back in the dusty desk-chair, looking nonchalant.

'I'm surprised you could find the place, Weasley. I heard you only just learnt the location of the bathroom. Your mummy must be dead impressed now her son's wearing big-boy pants.' Ron stopped smiling, and an angry blush rose in his cheeks. Hermione whispered something unintelligible and placed a hand against his shoulder, urging him to leave without a scene. He shot a final glare before disappearing down the corridor, and Hermione quickly walked into the room, avoiding Draco's gaze.

'I read your article,' she piped up, pulling reams of paper from a dark tote-bag. She turned to face him, having steeled herself for the encounter. 'Your analogies are clumsy and your picture choices lazy. You clearly only read one of the fashion magazines.'

'Hardly,' he smirked, interlacing his fingers. 'I picked up a sports one too... swimsuit edition.' Hermione frowned,

'I don't remember bringing that in...' she shook her head. 'You're infuriating.' Draco stood quickly. Hermione took a quick intake of breath, finding her face mere inches from his.

'You're not as good as you think you...'

A knock at the door interrupted them, and both turned to face the newcomer. Hermione looked the least composed, quickly pulling herself away from Draco to a safer distance. She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, embarrassed.

'Oh, Colin, it's just you.' The short blonde boy nodded, fondling the camera around his neck idly. He stared inquisitively at Draco. 'Ah, Draco, this is Colin Creevey. He's our photographer.' Colin jumped back to looking at her.

'I have some more candid shots for you Hermione, really good ones this time.' Draco glanced at her, and she caught the innuendo in his gaze.

'Colin wants to start a candid corner in the paper,' she quickly explained. 'Unfiltered images capturing student life.' The young boy nodded vigorously, pulling a stack of black-and-white polaroids from his satchel.

'They're really good this week, I mean it. I might have even caught you in one or two,' he replied cheerfully to Hermione. Draco raised an eyebrow at this, and sauntered over.

'Well, let's inspect this budding talent.' He pulled the photos from Colin's hands without waiting for an invitation, and began to quickly scan through them. The feigned enthusiasm changed to repulsion within seconds. 'These are all of Potter.' Hermione moved closer and extracted the photos from Draco's hands, being careful to avoid actual physical contact.

'Yes, well, Colin has a particular tendency for getting Harry in all of his shots.' Colin nodded eagerly.

'He's very photogenic.' Draco just stared back, wide-eyed, and mumbled under his breath,

'... sickening.' Hermione coughed to try and cover this up, pushing the photos back to Colin.

'I'm really sorry, Colin,' she said apologetically, 'but I just don't think it's the right time for this. You know we have a lot of material for the paper this month, and very limited physical resources...'

'That's OK,' he chirped. He took the photos back happily, and began to glance through them in a loving manner. 'I'll just post them on my bulletin board, for the fans.' Hermione nodded, ignoring the second horrified look from Draco. As Colin busied himself reorganising the photos to put away, Draco inched slightly closer to Hermione. _Spearmint again_ , he recognised.

'There's a bulletin board of _that_?' He whispered. Hermione frowned uncomfortably, but was relieved to see that Colin's interest was instead fixed on a particular full-body shot of Harry in the Quidditch changing rooms.

'Yes,' she whispered back. 'He put it up in the Gryffindor common room.'

'Figures. I bet Potter's loving the extra attention.' Hermione narrowed her eyes, and found her retort cut off by an expectant Colin.

'Try again next month, Colin. You got the shots for the front page, didn't you, though?' He nodded. 'Um, you haven't seen Seamus or Padma on your way, did you? They're five minutes late now.'

'Sure.' Colin replied, smiling. Hermione waited ten seconds for an expansion on the answer before snapping,

'Are they on their way?'

'Oh, no.' He shook his head, still smiling.

'He's on Zonko's euphoria pills, that one,' Draco whispered.

'No?' Hermione asked, ignoring the comment.

'No,' Colin replied. 'They're in the fifth aisle of the library.'

'Are they researching something?' Hermione frowned.

'No,' Colin replied. Draco grinned, and fell back into the desk chair with a satisfied _thwomph_.

'I know something you don't know,' he chimed happily, swivelling a full 360 degrees in the chair. 'Must be a first for you Granger, huh?'

'Stop goading and just tell me, Malfoy.'

'If they're in the fifth aisle, well...' he stopped spinning and grinned at her. 'They won't be coming to your meeting any time soon.' He leant back, folding his arms behind his head. 'And it's not because there are so many interesting books on the aisle, either.' Hermione continued to frown, until it dawned on her. Letting out an angry sigh, she moved back to her desk and scooped up the papers she had previously deposited there.

'Nobody takes this paper seriously, not even our staff,' she mumbled to herself. Organising the pile so it sat more comfortably in her arms, she turned back. 'Colin, you might as well go. The meeting's cancelled.' He walked briskly from the room and Draco pushed himself up, eager to follow. 'Draco!' He paused in the doorway, turning to face her with a mock-alarmed expression.

'I'm not taking you to the fifth aisle.'

'As if you could,' she quickly retorted, blushing. Draco acted as if he hadn't heard this and continued to run with the joke.

'No, Hermione, for the last time. I won't go with you to the fifth aisle.' He moved his hands up to his face, mimicking a horrified expression. 'Just wait till my father hears about the abundant sexual harassment on this paper, Granger.'

'Draco...' She moved forward, one arm now holding the stack of paper.

'Really, Granger, no. Don't touch me in my special place.' Hermione winced, and Draco's smirk broke though.

'I...' she said, stumbling for words.

'Seriously Granger,' Draco's voice turned cool as he folded his arms. 'Get your hand off my special place.' He nodded towards her free hand, which had moved to grip the closest desk. _His_ desk. Hermione was still blushing, but her shoulders had begun to shake in anger. He held his hands up in surrender, still smirking, and backed out of the room.

'You... you...' she fumbled, following after him. 'You stupid boy!' Draco frowned and pointed at her, still backing away.

'Hey, it's stupid **man** now. Aren't you journalists supposed to be accurate?' She screamed between gritted teeth and slammed the office door, the reams of paper spilling from her grip and cascading to the floor.

'Just you wait, Malfoy. Just you wait.'


	3. Chapter 3

All characters and the Harry Potter universe are the sole property of J. K. Rowling. Use of the characters below does not imply any ownership. This is all just for fun.

* * *

'Milk? Sugar?' Hermione blinked from her daydream, her eyes moving back to Professor McGonagall. They were in her office - a warm mish-mash of mahogany, tartan and crochet blankets. McGonagall was fussing over a well-worn tray, placing a knitted tea-cosy over her cast-iron teapot.

'Just a splash of milk please, Professor.' McGonagall obliged, pouring the tea into two mugs. Hers was adorned with a wise-looking tabby cat, which stared openly across the table at Hermione; her mug, in comparison, featured a rather droopy sunflower. There was a quick _flish_ of a wand, causing a sugar cube to fly from over Hermione's shoulder and into the tabby's cup. The cat gave an obliging purr and moved around the ceramic mug, out of Hermione's sight.

'The proof of this month's paper is currently sitting on Dumbledore's desk,' McGonagall explained, leaning back into the plump leather chair. 'I had my usual skim through, and it's looking like a good issue. You should be proud,'

'Thank you,' Hermione replied, cuddling her cup between her hands. One of the petals dropped off.

'However...' McGonagall reached for her cup, 'I notice you assigned Mr. Malfoy to a single, small article, instead of using him for the features page.'

'Yes...'

'You did say you wanted another features writer, didn't you, Miss Granger?'

'Yes, but...'

'And his writing is of an appropriate standard, don't you think? Comparable to your own, even.' Hermione hung her head,

'He was being cocky, Professor McGonagall.'

'So you thought you'd punish him with an article for Muggle Studies.' Hermione nodded, embarrassed, but McGonagall gave no further reproach but to sip her tea.

'I suppose I can't blame you. However, I expect you to utilise him on the next features article. A fifteen minute write-up is hardly the time-consuming punishment I had planned for his duelling in the corridor with Potter.'

'Yes, professor.'

'Have you had any ideas about the next features article?' Hermione set down her cup of tea, anxious and excited.

'Well, I've got a couple of ideas,' she stated modestly. 'I was thinking about another expose on the working conditions of house elves. Talking to some of them in the kitchens, I think I could find out about the lives some of them had before they came to Hogwarts, with wizarding families.'

'You did a similar expose about two months ago, if I recall. That and the house elves weren't willing to say anything disparaging to you then...'

'But that's exactly it Professor! The abuse is so ingrained they can't even speak about it.' McGonagall took a final gulp of tea, then held up a hand.

'I'm sorry, Hermione, but you can't write another features article on what the elves aren't saying.' She set the cup back down on the tray. 'Now, Dumbledore is more than happy for you to place adverts for your charity in the back pages, ah... S.T.E.W.?'

'S.P.E.W.' Hermione corrected.

'Another article on the topic is out of the question.' Noticing Hermione's disappointment, she softened. 'For now.'

'Perhaps we could run another personal piece, interviewing a professor about their personal and academic life?' McGonagall didn't look impressed. 'Ok, or maybe a history of the Hogwarts founders? I could talk to the various houses, have them nominate students who they think are the modern equivalents of their founder... although I guess it'll all just be lost with this tournament lark. Cedric Diggory is hardly a Helga...' she stopped her train of thought upon noticing the Professor's gaze. 'Hufflepuff,' she finished, in the interest of closure. McGonagall shook her head.

'We don't want the whole year to be defined by the tournament, I think. A features article needs something more, Miss Granger - intrigue, human drama, the pull of a good story. The ideas you're suggesting aren't bad, they're just... lacking. You need to engage the students but I also want you to break some ground, to define your time at the paper. We need something shocking, or at the very least, surprising.'

'Surprising,' Hermione repeated to herself.

'You're finished with your tea?' Hermione glanced down at the still-full cup and nodded.

'Yes, Professor.'

'When you think you have an article which meets all the things I've told you, come back to me so I can approve it.' Hermione pushed herself up from the chair, feeling slightly downtrodden. 'Oh, and make sure you work more closely with Mr. Malfoy this time.' Feeling like this was the final nail in her coffin, she bowed her head and left the office.


	4. Chapter 4

All characters and the Harry Potter universe are the sole property of J. K. Rowling. By using (some) of these characters below, I am in no way trying to claim ownership.

* * *

He stood opposite, his face only inches away from her own. She had the sudden urge to stick out her tongue and lick the tip of his nose, yet found herself paralysed by his gaze. There was a power and ferocity there, yes, but a softening around the eyes which suggested something so much deeper. He called her name in a whisper, the pain and longing in his voice urging her to succumb to him. A flash of light came from her periphery, casting a blue shadow across Draco's features. The blonde hair became icier with the blue, and she had the sudden desire to give in to the cold. His face moved closer and she prepared herself for the frostbite. A second flash, this time of red, destroyed everything, and she shrieked...

...Clutching the egde of the tweed-covered armchair, she looked around herself in horror and confusion. Ron and Harry, who had been happily sending streaks of light around the common room, now mirrored her own expression back at her. The realisation that she had been dreaming hit her like a tonne of bricks and she crumbled back into the chair, a deep blush rising on her cheeks. 'Um, Hermione, are you OK?' Ron asked, when she was not forthcoming with an explanation for her outburst. She stared back at him like a deer in the headlights, then grabbed the bag at her feet and stood up.

'I was just resting my eyes,' she mumbled.

'One of _those_ kinds of dreams?' Harry grinned, his comment more aimed at Ron. He looked slightly uncomfortable but smiled with Harry.

'I, ah... I'm just going to the library.'

'But it's nearly dinner time?' Ron's brow furrowed, but Hermione was already striding over to the portrait door.

'I'll eat later, got to study, bye.' Ron glanced back at Harry, who seemed unconcerned and had now directed his attention to forming a blue cube of light. His efforts were pointless, as each side that he managed to push straight began to bulge out on the opposing side.

'What do you think's up with her?'

'Girls.' Harry shrugged, as if that was explanation enough.

* * *

Hermione didn't relax until she had passed the threshold of the library, the scent of old books and oil lamps welcoming her home. This was her place - her domain. Nodding a quick acknowledgement to the librarian, she moved towards the 'RETURNS' trolley and began wheeling it through the aisles. Being such a frequent visitor, she had begun to take on spare library duties during study breaks, carrying out tasks such as returning misplaced books and refreshing inkwells. As she moved through the library, books began to float from the trolley and zoom back to their correct place on the shelves.

Hermione slowed to a halt as she approached the fifth aisle, remembering the student paper meeting from the previous week. As she held an internal debate with herself about investigating the appeal of this aisle, the trolley was nudged slightly closer, just enough for a small, non-descript journal to zoom up and around the corner, into the aisle. There was a loud _thwock_ , followed by a disgruntled outburst. Hermione recognised the voice and recoiled as Draco appeared. 'Bloody book,' he muttered, holding the journal in one hand whilst the other rubbed his head. He paused in surprise at the mouth of the aisle, noticing Hermione.

'Draco, I won't wait...' Pansy Parkinson appeared from behind Draco and stopped upon noticing Hermione, then began to flatten her rumpled robes. 'What does **she** want?'

Draco seemed to snap out of his daze and chucked the journal back at Hermione, who caught it against her chest and cuddled it almost protectively. 'It's not enough to just waste my time with the paper then, Granger? Gotta run in on my study time too, huh?' He grabbed out for Pansy, an arm locking around her waist and pulling her body against his. She giggled at him, then looked back at Hermione in disgust.

'Yeah, I was really enjoying my study period,' she chimed, then kissed Draco on the cheek. 'Babe, I have to get back and help Blaise with his potion's essay.' Draco nodded and released her, but kept his gaze firmly on Hermione. She found herself reminded of the intensity in her dream and blushed, turning her attention back to the trolley. Her attempt to move it was hindered however, as Draco jumped in front and blocked its passage.

'What are you doing down here, Granger? Hoping Potter might take you down the aisle?'

'Get out of my way, Malfoy.'

'My stint at the paper is coming to an end, Granger, and then you won't be able to torment me any more.' Hermione rolled her eyes,

'For goodness' sake, Draco, I didn't know you were down there with that... that...' _two-bit harlot_ , she finished in her head. Draco just stared back, mildly amused.

'Pansy?' He suggested.

'Whatever! McGonagall's the one punishing you, and tormenting me at the same time, so stop acting like you don't even deserve it.' Draco sidled around the trolley. 'You and your Pansy can just go snog somewhere else, out of my library!'

'Oh, _your_ library?'

'I'm here more than you,' she placed her hands on her hips defiantly. Draco grinned and gestured to the fifth aisle,

'Well I'm there more than you, so it's mine. Back off.'


	5. Chapter 5

The Harry Potter universe and its characters are the sole property of J. K. Rowling, and by using them below I am in no way claiming ownership of them.

* * *

Hermione paused at the entrance to the great hall, nervously waiting in the shadow of a Hippogriff statue. Draco, at that moment oblivious to being watched, stood only a few metres away. He appeared to be saying his goodbyes to a group of Slytherin students, while an enamoured Pansy Parkinson hung from his arm. Hermione recognised some of the students, and suspicious, cast a quick enchantment to better hear their conversation.

'We'll see you later in the dungeons, right?' Blaise Zabini asked, casting a few looks around the hall to check for eavesdroppers. 'We need to discuss the progress.' His tone was insistent, but Draco seemed unconcerned.

'Sure,' was his quick reply. His hand tightened on Pansy's hip, stopping her from swinging back and forth. She pouted at this show of dominance until he whispered something in her ear. The pout quickly changed to a mischievous grin. 'I just need to see Snape about my last project report.'

'Can't it wait?'

'I'm on the edge of an Exceeds, Blaise. My dad expects an Outstanding.'

'Fine,' now Blaise seemed to be pouting, albeit in a more threatening way. 'Don't be late again.' He wasn't happy, but let Draco leave the group without another word. Both he and Pansy Parkinson sauntered into the foyer, their stride matched to the other. Draco seemed to glance back as if to check they were both out of Blaise's eyeline, then stopped to disentangle himself from Pansy.

'I really do have to see Snape.'

'But Draco...' she began to whine.

'No, I have to go. I'll see you later as well, OK?' Sighing, she turned on her heel and left, walking straight past Hermione's hiding place. Draco turned and moved in the opposite direction. He was walking with purpose but clearly not towards Snape's office. Hermione moved out from the shadows and went after him.

After following him past the Transfiguration and lower Divination classrooms, it became clear that his journey had no specific end point. The corridor was empty, it being lunchtime, so Hermione pounced and pushed Draco against the corridor wall. He let out a grunt and glared at her, a look of fear quickly morphing into one of amusement. 'Can't keep your hands off me, Granger?' She pushed harder against his chest and the amusement faded. 'Why are you following me?'

'What is this?' She demanded, using one arm to keep him pinned, whilst the other reached into her robe and extracted a black journal. Draco could easily have overpowered her but remained in place against the wall, the excitement once again rising in his abdomen and making his pulse race.

'I don't know, your diary?' He suggested sarcastically. She slammed the book against the wall by his head, making him jump.

'You planted this in the trolley, didn't you?' He stared back at her, confused.

'What are you talking about?'

'Yesterday, in the library. Pretty convenient that you just happened to be in the fifth aisle with Miss Whatserface, and could put this book right in my hands, isn't it?' Draco finally pushed her arm away from his chest, and removed himself from the wall.

'You're crazy.' Hermione flicked through the pages in front of him undeterred, and began to quote passages.

'die Veranstaltung des Grendelmages, zerstören das Schmutzigesblut - you know what this is, don't you?' Malfoy shot her a quick scowl then redirected his attention to the creases Hermione had inflicted on his robes. 'The order of the Grendelmages,' she continued, then chucked the journal at him. His reflexes were less adept and the book bounced from his chest and to the floor. It opened at its centre, revealing a detailed diagram - a rune-circle with a female wizard stretched between its five power points, surrounded by barely legible handwriting. Frowning, he bent down to pick up the book.

'Am I meant to know what that is?' Hermione paused to assess his sincerity - he'd played mind games on her a little too often to take him at his word. His curious perusal of the book didn't seem staged, so she began to explain.

'The Grendelmages are an underground wizarding group from central- and Eastern-Europe.' She closed the gap between them and flipped the pages back to the start in his hands. The first page held the words she had quoted, bordered by two ominously-drawn gargoyles, a collection of unintelligible signatures and a date - 1902. 'They wanted to eradicate das Schmutzigesblut.' Draco shrugged,

'What's that?'

'People whose blood was thought to be...' she swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry, 'tainted.'

'Like mudbloods?' Draco continued casually, not noticing Hermione's expression.

'You did set this up, didn't you?' She accused, yanking the book from his hands.

'Hermione...' he started tentatively, her reaction causing a strange piercing sensation in his chest. 'That stuff I said in second year. I didn't think you'd take it personally...'

'Was there any other way to take it?' She scowled at him, gripping the book. 'You know what, forget it. Perhaps you ought to take a long look at yourself in the mirror Draco, and wonder why you try to get a rise out of me and Harry and Ron all the time.'

She turned on her heel, leaving a confused and hurt Draco behind. Sighing, he moved across the corridor to the window and stared down at the courtyard below. Hermione appeared moments later, rushing across the cobbles and down towards the lake. Her shoulders were hunched over the book, and Draco couldn't shake the feeling that she was crying.


	6. Chapter 6

The Harry Potter universe and its characters are the sole property of J. K. Rowling, and by using them below I am in no way attempting to claim ownership. All the respect and dues to J. K. R.

* * *

After a week of increasingly suspicious activity among groups of Slytherin students, at least in Hermione's mind, she decided it was time for action. It had been a week since she had confronted Draco with the Grendelmages journal, and they had both successfully avoided one another since then. Hermione had spent her spare study periods researching the Order of the Grendelmages and trying to find any evidence to link Draco with the book.

The Order had begun as small student gatherings in various European schools, maintained by cryptic newsletters from elitist purebloods, who were shocked and angry about the sudden influx of students from half- and full-muggle backgrounds. However, it wasn't until one student - Grendel Gigomovitch - joined their ranks that the activities escalated. There were the facts: harassment and extortion of so-called 'tainted' students families, pureblood propaganda in the libraries and the release of dangerous magical animals into muggle areas. Then there were the rumours: secret and archaic rituals, blood sacrifice and dark magic. These rumours were encouraged further by the disappearance of a 'tainted' student from the walls of Durmstrang. Her body had never been recovered, and soon after, Grendel was purported to have gone mad. He turned on his pureblood allies, believing all of them tainted in some way, until his own disappearance in the early 1920s. The group then faded out of public consciousness.

Hermione had been debating the pros and cons of her scheme continually for the past three days, and it was only when the opportunity presented itself - the pairing of herself with a Slytherin student in Potions - that she became determined. Making her excuses to leave both Ron and Harry early at the dinner table, she moved through the deserted castle to the infamous girls' bathroom. Her entrance was announced by the increased wailing of an unseen Myrtle, which Hermione just ignored. There had been several occasions where acknowledgement had led to what Harry called 'the Lost Hours', where Myrtle held them hostage in the bathroom with her whining and vitriol about anyone and anything.

The cauldron was still bubbling in the stall where she had left it two years ago - with all the effort she had expended in producing the Polyjuice Potion, Hermione had made a continuous effort to sustain the batch until it was next required. Knowing the mischief she inevitably found herself in with Harry, she was surprised it hadn't been required since then.

She kneeled on the wet floor, ignoring the water which began to seep through her robes at the knee. The strand of hair she had collected earlier in class was still in her pocket, sealed in a spare vial. _No going back now_ , she steeled herself. Ladling a decent portion into a goblet, she added the hair and waited for the bubbling to cease. 'Here goes,' she said to no-one in particular, and holding her breath, downed the potion. The sensation of cold wax dripping down her neck made her shiver, and she felt her face contorting into a weird, inflated version of itself. Her hair shrunk closer to the skull, decreasing in volume and frizziness. When the sensation stopped, she ran to check her reflection in the mirror; the change was complete. She replaced her Gryffindor-coloured tie for its Slytherin analogue before making her exit from the bathroom.

* * *

Pansy found the group of Slytherins she was searching for down by the lake, skimming stones across its surface. Both Crabbe and Goyle stared silently across the waters to the Durmstrang ship, while Blaise threw stones with increasing intensity. They bounced from an invisible shield which surrounded the ship, but this didn't deter him. Draco was the most elevated of the group, sitting on the lowest branch of a tree which overhung the water. He deviated from the group by staring not at the ship, but instead at Hogwarts, his expression conflicted. As a result, he noticed Pansy first and leapt down from the tree to greet her.

'I'd been wondering where you'd got to,' he said smoothly, wrapping both arms around her waist to pull their torsos together. His expression changed and he glanced down at the small gap between them. 'Your robes are wet?' She seemed slightly rigid in his grip, almost anxious, but brushed his question off.

'I had to walk through some bushes to get here, it must have rained earlier. I didn't want anyone to see me,' she added, placing an emphasis on the last sentence. Draco didn't notice, or if he did, didn't volunteer any information about why his group had seemed so secretive lately. He instead leant forward and kissed her, forcing the disguised Hermione to reciprocate or blow her cover. His tongue brushed the outline of her top lip, and before he could work her mouth open she pulled away. Hermione had to work hard to keep her face calm, suppressing her disgust. Happily, Draco seemed too self-involved to notice the difference in his girlfriend. He released her to instead turn his gaze on the ship which captivated his friends. Worried about the remaining time with the potion, Hermione tugged at Draco's robe.

'I've been watching Blaise chuck rocks for hours,' he offered, glancing back at her.

'Perhaps we should go somewhere?' Hermione suggested, trying to sound alluring. 'Somewhere more private.' That caught Draco's attention fully, and he smiled wickedly.

'Perhaps we should.'


	7. Chapter 7

The Harry Potter universe and all characters are the sole property of J. K. Rowling. By using them below, I am in no way implying any ownership. This is all done for fun.

* * *

Hermione led Draco away from the group, skirting along the edge of the forbidden forest. A quick glance back at him, and the smile she got in reply, confirmed that the Polyjuice Potion was holding strong. 'Pansy,' he called, grabbing out at her robe, his hand brushing hers. 'Where are we going?'

'Just a bit further,' Hermione replied, pulling herself free and continuing to lead him away from the lake. _Dear God,_ she thought in a panic, _this is ridiculous. This was never going to work._

She stopped at the edge of Hagrid's pumpkin patch, shielded from any nosey eyes by a precarious looking stack of pumpkins. Turning to face him, she opened her mouth to speak, but found her words pre-empted by Draco. He pushed her back against the pumpkins, his mouth firmly against hers. All rational thought disappeared and she found herself forgetting the important things - imitating Pansy, discovering the reason for Blaise's secrecy, linking Draco to the Grendelmage journal - and found herself swept up by the passion in his touch. Deprived of reason, she let his hands skirt down her shoulders and onto her waist, where he pulled her firmly against his chest. It wasn't until his mouth moved away from hers and down her neck that she remembered her task. Her arms moved up to his shoulders, gently urging him away. 'Draco, we need to talk.' He rolled his eyes, relinquishing his grip and moving to sit on a particularly large pumpkin. The sight should have been ludicrous, the aloof and arrogant Malfoy straddling a root vegetable, but the overall effect made it look like a photo-shoot for a high-end fashion magazine.

'You're breaking up with me, then?' Draco asked, appearing vulnerable. Hermione, as Pansy, was struck by surprise - she had always assumed the relationship to be superficial.

'Ah... no...' she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, her fingers unfamiliar with the smooth, sleek locks they encountered. Inspiration struck: 'I think that Hermione is catching on.' Draco frowned at her,

'Hermione? You mean Granger?'

'She keeps staring at us, I think she knows what's going on.' Draco narrowed his eyes,

'What, you think she's jealous of you?' Hermione was dumbfounded by this reply.

'No, you know, I think she knows what's really going on.' Draco smirked, pushing himself up from the pumpkin and over to her.

'You're so cute when you're talking in riddles,' he pinned her back against the stack. 'What's really going on?' He asked playfully, an eyebrow raised.

'You know...' Hermione fumbled for words. 'That thing with Blaise...' Draco leant forward and kissed her neck, but this time she was determined not to be distracted. 'With Blaise...' kiss 'and...' kiss 'you...' kiss 'and...' kiss 'Draco...' His mouth moved up to hers, cutting off anything further. This kiss was less passionate, more tender, but when Draco pulled away his expression was one of horror. Hermione, taken aback, brought her hand up to her face - and encountered masses of frizzy, curly hair. The potion had worn off.

'You...' Draco stuttered, wide-eyed. He took a step back and tripped over an errant branch, falling on his rear. 'Bleurgh... ugh... ugh...' he scrambled up, wiping his mouth with his sleeve whilst making gagging noises. 'What the actual hell, Granger!?'


	8. Chapter 8

The Harry Potter universe and all associated characters are the sole property of J. K. Rowling. By using them below, I am not implying any ownership in the slightest.

* * *

'How's the work with Malfoy going?' Ginny asked from across the breakfast table. Hermione pushed her scrambled eggs across the plate with her fork, avoiding eye contact.

'Oh, you know.' Ginny frowned back at her.

'No, I don't know.' Hermione shrugged. 'Did something weird happen between you two?' Horrified at the suggestion, Hermione looked up from the eggs.

'What? No! Why would you ask such a silly thing? What could have possibly happened between _me_ and _him_?' Ginny was taken aback by the sudden barrage of words tumbling from Hermione's mouth - she had been virtually silent since returning to the common room the night before.

'No reason,' she replied, wide-eyed. Hermione returned her gaze back to the plate, this time focussing her attention on a lone, fried mushroom. 'It's just, Hermione, I've noticed... and not just me, Neville too, that Malfoy keeps looking over here.' She didn't respond. 'And then, when he thinks you might look up, he stops looking.' Still, nothing. 'Sometimes you look at him instead, then look away when you think he might see you too.' Hermione now speared the mushroom and brandished it at Ginny.

'I do not like Malfoy, do you hear me? He's repellent.' She dropped the fork, which sent the mushroom bounding across the table and into Ron's lap. Being too preoccupied with the Chudley Cannon's results in the Daily Prophet, he didn't notice.

* * *

There was a knock at the door and Hermione swivelled in her chair to face the office visitor. Draco stood awkwardly in the doorway, managing to look at her without making eye contact. 'Colin said you wanted me?' He asked. Hermione scowled,

'I absolutely do not want you!'

'Uh, OK,' he replied, looking at her like she was crazy.

'But I need you for the paper.' He didn't move any further into the office, as if he was afraid to get any closer. 'We need to talk.'

'I can talk from here.'

'Look,' she held her hands out in her lap, 'I was chasing a lead, pretending to be Pansy.'

'Is that what you're calling it?'

'I was under the impression,' she continued, 'that you and your friends had been acting suspiciously, and in light of the book which was placed in my possession by you, I felt the need to investigate it further. All in the nature of good journalism.'

'You felt the need to humiliate me by pretending to be my girlfriend?' He asked, incredulous. Hermione panicked.

'It was Agorbius' idea.'

'Who?'

'Agorbius.' Hermione gestured to the resident ghost, still dozing at his desk, his face covered by a ghostly newspaper. As if agreeing with Hermione's statement, he let out a loud snore.

'OK, so Agorbius, _the ghost_ , told you to enchant yourself to look like my girlfriend. And you did it.'

'He told me I needed an 'in' for your group. Pansy was the easiest option.' Hermione stood up and brushed down her robes. 'Agorbius was a well-acclaimed writer for the Daily Prophet, you know, about two hundred years ago.'

'I'm sure there's still a hell of a lot of ethical issues around _you_ pretending to be _my_ girlfriend for information, and letting me put my hands all over you.' Hermione sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

'I know. I'm just under all this pressure from McGonagall to find a good story. I need this for...'

'Your future applications to the top wizarding universities,' he interrupted, 'I know.'

'So, truce?' She offered.

'Fine,' he replied, resigned. 'Truce.' He held out his hand, and she tentatively shook it. 'Just so you know, I totally thought you were Pansy. I would never...'

'No,' Hermione shook her head, blushing slightly. 'I would never, ever...' she agreed, gesturing to him. 'It was only for journalism.' He relinquished his grip and went to sit on the edge of his desk. Hermione moved back to sit in her chair.

'So what have you found out about that journal?' He asked.

'Nothing.' She extracted a thick scroll from a desk drawer and offered it to him. 'I did some light reading in the library. This is all I could find on the Order of the Grendelmages. The journal itself isn't in the library directory, so must have been added by someone this term. And since you had nothing to do with it...' the tone was still accusatory, and Draco narrowed his eyes.

'No, I didn't. Nobody I know even has a clue who these Greengables are.' He folded his arms. 'You ever think that, hey, this Order of the Greengages is closely linked with Durmstrang, and oh, look...' he moved over to the window. 'Isn't that Durmstrang's ship, right there, outside?'

'OK,' Hermione pouted. 'But you've got to admit, you have form for this.'

'Maybe the book's enchanted, and holds a piece of someone's soul.'

'No.' He turned away from the view and back to face her.

'How can you be so sure?'

She reached into another drawer and extracted the journal, flipped it to the back page and then handed it to him. He chuckled, reading out Hermione's addition to the book.

' "Hello. I'm Hermione. I'm sad." What is this?'

'Well, Ginny was upset when she was writing to Tom Riddle, so I thought it might need to empathise with me before releasing it's secrets.'

'And you're sad.'

'Oh, please, a book couldn't tell if I was lying.' Draco tossed the book back onto her desk and shrugged.

'Well, I'm at a loss.'

'I'm sure that's hardly a new feeling for you.' She picked up the journal, flipping through the pages until she found what she was looking for. She held it out for Draco to see, and he was confronted by the same runic circle he had seen previously. The female wizard stretched across the circle looked more pained than he remembered. 'It's a calendar.'

'For those wizards who have a penchant for virgin-sacrificing?'

'I've translated part of it,' she continued, ignoring him. 'This journal records all of the meetings of a certain group of the Grendelmages. They run from 1902 to this year.' She flipped back several pages. 'I think these are the signatures of members who turn up to each meeting, but I can't link the names to real wizards.'

'Fake names.' Hermione nodded.

'They meet bi-annually. The calendar corresponds to the dates of these meetings.'

'So you can use it to see when they'll next meet?'

'Exactly.'

'I'm guessing it's soon.'

'This seems to be an unusual year,' she flipped back to the central, runic circle. 'Their next meeting is in eight days' time.'

'That's great,' Draco feigned, and Hermione smiled at the implied praise. 'But of course, we don't know where they're meeting.' The smile faded. 'So what do you suggest we do about that?'


	9. Chapter 9

The Harry Potter universe and all associated character are the sole property of J. K. Rowling, and by using them below, I am in no way claiming ownership.

* * *

'I can't believe they call you the smartest girl in our year. This is a terrible idea.' Draco shook his head, astounded by the plan he'd agreed to. _After all that bravado_ , he thought, _and now I'm in the fifth aisle with her_. She had chosen the rendezvous location, certain they would be left alone - now she knew of the aisle's sordid history, she began to notice how many passing students deliberately looked in the opposite direction. She stashed her bag between some large editions on a lower shelf then straightened.

'Oh, I'm sorry,' she replied sarcastically, unfolding the invisibility cloak she had 'borrowed' from Harry. 'We needed to know the Durmstrang's plans. Viktor Krum hangs around this library enough, and with that big head of his, he was hardly surprised by my advances...'

'And you just pretended to flirt with him, right? For the journalism, I'm sure.' Hermione scowled,

'He does nothing for me. Take this,' she held out one corner of the cloak. 'He's expecting to meet me at the front of the library in five minutes. He could only briefly say hello and then has to go somewhere. We'll follow him.'

'And voila,' Draco chucked the corner over his head. 'We'll know whether your boyfriend is part of an evil, mudblood-kidnapping cult.' Hermione pulled her corner over her head, then began to adjust the cloak to make sure they were both covered.

'You'll have to move closer, I can see your feet.' He obliged and took a step left, stepping on her foot such that she tumbled into the adjacent shelves. 'Hey, watch it, big feet!' Students in the sixth aisle looked up from their papers, shot embarrassed or amused looks at one another, then resumed their work.

'It's not my fault,' he replied sullenly, 'you're invisible.'

'No, we're invisible, to everyone **outside** of the cloak,' she corrected. 'Just look where you're going, or those size nines are going to ruin my stake-out.' He exhaled moodily.

'If this was a stake-out, we'd have pumpkin pasties.'

'No, we'd have doughnuts.' He turned to face her, then realised the proximity they were in - his hair had begun to intermix with hers, pale blond with mousy brown. She was a bundle of warmth underneath the covers with him, making his senses go into hyperdrive.

'Have you just brushed your teeth?'

'What?' She now turned to face him, and judging by her facial expression, went through the same shocked realisation about their closeness. She turned her gaze to the front. 'We'd better head to the entrance, otherwise we'll miss him.'

The journey to the front of the library was riddled with obstacles, mostly in the form of over-eager first years, but they made it through without exposing themselves. Hermione was hardly sure what would be worse, people seeing her appear out of thin air, or people seeing her in the company of Malfoy. There was a brief moment where Hermione almost found out the answer, with Draco tripping over Colin's satchel. The colourful swear word from Draco caused Colin to jump and quickly hide the photographs he'd been perusing, but thankfully, the eager photographer didn't pursue the outburst any further.

The pair exited the library just as Viktor Krum appeared. He was dressed in a crimson turtleneck, which to Malfoy's disgust, further enhanced the Seeker's chiselled abs. Viktor waited no less than ten minutes for Hermione, alternating between peering down the corridor, into the library and at his watch. With an exasperated sigh, the Seeker finally gave up and turned to go back the way he'd come. Hermione nudged Draco into action and they both gave chase, trying to be as stealthy as possible. _At least there's fewer first years for him to trip over,_ Hermione thought wryly.

Viktor came to a halt outside of Professor Binn's classroom, which at 8 pm was completely empty. He checked his watch once more, appearing on edge, but relaxed upon seeing another figure appear at the end of the corridor. The newcomer was hooded, but from the build appeared to be a fellow Durmstrang, and Viktor moved down the corridor to greet him with a hearty hug. Hermione nudged Draco once more, albeit a little too eagerly. He winced as her elbow came into contact with his ribs. 'This must be where they're meeting,' she whispered.

'You don't say.'

'Come on,' Hermione went to move, but Draco grabbed her arm under the cloak.

'What do you mean, come on?' The two Durmstrang students were conversing in a language unknown to Draco, and their volume increased as a third student appeared.

'We won't hear what they're saying from out here. Quick, before they notice.' Without giving time to let Malfoy protest, she dragged him over to the door. She whispered an enchantment under her breath and the door unlocked, opening just wide enough for them to slip inside. The door closed silently behind them and Malfoy squinted, trying to identify objects in the room from the moonlight pouring in from a window. 'Now, I think there's a cupboard along that back wall.' Ignoring his protests she dragged him to the back of the classroom, with no regards to his safety. Another colourful swear word escaped his lips as the third desk bashed into his side.

Hermione almost squealed with delight upon finding the door handle for the cupboard. The outside-voices increased in volume and panicked, Draco now pushed past Hermione to open the cupboard. He jumped inside, dragging Hermione with him, and slammed the door shut just as the classroom door opened.


	10. Chapter 10

The Harry Potter universe and its characters are the sole property of J. K. Rowling. By writing the below, I am in no way laying any claim to their ownership.

* * *

'Oh my God, I can't feel my arm.' The pale limb extended lifeless across Draco's chest, and he began to prod it with increasing vigour with the one arm he could feel. Hermione let out a whispered shriek from underneath him.

'That's because it's my arm, you idiot! Get off me!' They were a tangle of bodies and invisibility cloak, which were there better light in Professor Binn's cupboard, would look very odd indeed. During the time it had taken to disentangle themselves and stand up, the Durmstrang students had rearranged the classroom. Now, instead of orderly rows, a circle had been created from the desks. The faint glow of several candles penetrated the darkness of the cupboard, which Hermione now realised was too tight for them to stand side-by-side. Draco was stuck behind her with little-to-no view of the proceedings, while she found herself pressed up against the door. To her horror, the door was not solid - a large horizontal gouge ran almost its full width, in-line with her mouth. Shrapnel damage from Seamus. _It's impressive, really_ , Hermione thought to herself, _considering this is a history class, not a magic class_.

She fumbled about her robes for a wand and it not being forthcoming, tilted her head back towards Draco. 'I need you to shrink this hole,' she whispered. 'They might see us.' Malfoy took great care to not mistake Hermione's robes for his own, as he plunged his hand through the folds of fabric. He managed to extract his wand without much accidental prodding of Hermione. A quick _flish_ and the cupboard itself shrunk in size, pushing Hermione's face further into the door and Draco's into her hair. 'You idiot,' she repeated, reaching back to grab the wand from him. She muttered the counter-spell, returning the cupboard to its normal size, then aimed the _reducto_ spell pointedly at the gouge. 'You need to aim your spells, Malfoy, not just chuck them out there willy-nilly.' She chastised, handing the wand back. He grunted in response.

Now possessing a safer viewing point, Hermione bent down slightly to peer through the door. Viktor stood in the centre of the makeshift circle, his arms folded and expression clouded. Igor Karkaroff stood behind him, surveying the other Durmstrang students. 'We are all here?' He asked, his voice thick with a Bulgarian accent. 'Good.'

'I hear news,' Viktor said, straightening. 'We all know of coming of dragon.'

'I think Dumbledore suspicious also,' Igor added. 'We must prepare for coming of dragon in better secret.'

'There will be bloodshed,' another Durmstrang student offered. Hermione, enraptured, pushed herself closer to the gap. Draco felt, more than saw, that something interesting was happening on the other side. Intrigued, he tried to move forward, which to Hermione's horror toppled a broom. The broom fell backwards, creating a resounding _boing_ on a tin pail, and sent a cascade of scrolls onto the minimal floor space. The Durmstrang students fell silent, and as one turned to stare at the cupboard door. Wide-eyed, Hermione twisted to face Draco.

'You've done it now.' There was the scraping of desks against the stone floor as they were moved, and the trod of heavy footsteps coming closer. Panic-stricken and unable to locate the invisibility cloak in the dark cupboard, Hermione took the only option she thought available. Grabbing Draco by the collar, she pulled him against her, wrapping one hand around his waist while her other hand intertwined with his hair. Her mouth hit his and he acquiesced instantly, his lips moulding to match hers, tongue working to keep rhythm with the kiss. The cupboard door was yanked open and Draco attempted to pull away from Hermione to see the invaders, but her grip kept his face firmly against hers. The urging of her body against his prevented him from fighting any harder and he gave-in, not caring what the consequences would be.

Words were spoken in a foreign tongue and the door slammed closed, plunging the two back into darkness. They didn't separate, with Hermione continuing her kisses until she was certain the adjacent classroom had emptied. The secret Durmstrang meeting had clearly been disrupted.

Only then did she relinquish her grip on Draco. He stared back at her, warm and happily confused. 'It worked,' she said with a relieved smile, pushing the cupboard door back open to reveal the empty classroom. 'I was hoping they'd just leave an oblivious couple making-out. Too distracted to be a threat.' He frowned,

'What do you mean, a threat?'


	11. Chapter 11

The Harry Potter universe and its characters are the sole property of J. K. Rowling. Nowt to do with me.

* * *

Hermione had tossed and turned for the past four hours. More often than not when working on a difficult story, she had found the quiet and isolation of her own bed indispensable - as soon as all distractions were removed and she could work logically through her thoughts, inspiration would strike. She had carefully made excuses to Ron and Harry all evening, allowing herself to crawl under the covers by 9 pm. Yet no answer came. _What is the coming of the dragon?_ She pondered again and sighed. Ginny whimpered in the adjacent bed, the young Weasley moaning in her sleep. 'No, Neville... Percy will see...' she mumbled, turning her face deeper into her pillow. _Right,_ Hermione determined, _I need another perspective._

* * *

Roughly half a mile away from Hermione's tower, deep in the dungeons of Hogwarts, Draco was also struggling to sleep. The broom cupboard encounter of the previous night had thrown his mind into a tempest, the conflicting feelings of contempt and torment battling with the memory of Hermione's touch, and the lust he had felt in response. _But it meant nothing for her, it was only for the article_ , he thought scornfully. Letting out a primal roar, he pulled the pillow out from under his head and chucked it at the opposing wall. It fell with a soft thunk, providing no release for the tension he felt. With a groan he lay back down, the mattress cool against his face. _She's one of them,_ his thoughts continued. _She'll never want you. She'll always be one of them._

The door to the room opened and Draco suddently froze, on-edge. The thoughts which had tormented him all night were finally silenced by fear. The Slytherin dormitories had been run to the ideals of its founder Salazar Slytherin for as long as the house had existed - with Salazar's desire to foster competition and animosity between his students, each possessed their own 'cell', whose door would only open to the touch of their occupant... or so Draco had thought. The door shut closed. Draco, terrified but given a boost by the anger which had been rolling around his chest all evening, pushed himself up to face the expected attacker.

He saw no-one - no dark figures lingering in the doorway or hanging over his bed, and there was certainly nowhere in the room large enough to hide a fellow student. Gaining in courage, he leant over the bed to inspect the floor. After all, the house-elves came in at some point to clean up. Perhaps it was normal for them to enter the rooms during the early hours of the morning, when he was usually too deeply asleep to notice?

The inspection of the floor yielded no answers, and no elf made themselves known to his searching gaze. _Maybe I'm just sleep deprived_ , he thought, _and that's making me hallucinate._ Agreeing with himself, he pulled his gaze back up to the door. The disembodied, floating head of Hermione Granger looked back at him, puzzled. Draco screamed, instinctively kicking himself further up the mattress in an effort to escape.

Hermione winced as the blonde head cracked against the stone wall and Draco knocked himself unconscious.


	12. Chapter 12

The Harry Potter universe and its characters are the sole property of J. K. Rowling. By using them below, I am in no way claiming ownership.

* * *

'Draco? Draco?' Her voice resounded in the darkened room and she felt him begin to stir underneath her fingertips. The earlier inspection of his skull had revealed no blood but an increasingly large bump on his crown. He had lain peacefully on the bed since knocking himself unconscious, reminding Hermione of a sleeping seraphim. _It's just a shame that when he's awake, he act's like he's a monster_. She brushed a lock of blonde hair from his forehead and he groaned slightly, leaning into her touch. 'Draco?'

'Hmm...'

'Are you OK?' His eyes opened slowly and focused on hers.

'Hermione?' He sighed, 'is this a dream?' His hand moved up to the back of the head and probed the bump, causing him to wince. He pushed himself up into a sitting position and Hermione suddenly became painfully aware that she was in Draco's bed. With him. She tried to suppress the butterflies in her stomach. _Don't be silly_ , she chastised herself, _You're just sat here. There's nothing to see here._ 'This isn't a dream?' He enquired, breaking her train of thought. She shook her head.

'No, I think I scared you.'

'You didn't scare me,' he was quick to retort, suddenly feeling exposed. He pulled up at the covers, trying to hide himself and Hermione raised an eyebrow in question.

'Then why did you scream like a girl and faint?'

'I didn't faint,' he scowled, but then probed the bump again. 'Did I?'

'No,' she smirked, 'but you did scream.'

'Do you have to do that?' He demanded, his eyes roving up and down her form.

'Do what?' She replied, confused.

'Wear that stupid invisibility cloak.' Hermione had wrapped the fabric around her in such a way that only her head and forearm were exposed, and while it felt no different for her, she suddenly comprehended how unnerving it might be for him.

'It's not my fault it's freezing in here,' she said defensively. 'And...'

'And what?'

'I didn't come dressed for the occasion.' Draco laughed,

'What, you're wearing your 'I hate Malfoy' nightie?' She pouted.

'Fine. I'll show you mine if you show me yours.' Grimacing, he let go of the covers. 'Wow.'

'I didn't buy it.' The pouty faces of the Weird Sisters peered back at her from his chest, the glam boy-band clad in fake fur, leather and spangles. His t-shirt had its own spangles too, in the form of a glitter-glue heart around the group. Hermione was dumbfounded. 'Pansy likes them. I didn't have anything else to wear.'

'... Right.'

'It's the truth,' he glared. 'You.'

'Here goes,' she said reluctantly and dropped the invisibility cloak. It pooled in her lap, revealing only slightly more sophisticated nightwear - a cami and shorts set, adorned with grinning ginger kittens. She steeled herself for the smartass reply, but Draco simply stared, his expression unreadable.

'Aren't you cold?' He asked, his voice an uncharacteristic monotone.

'Well, yes.'

'And you wear that up in your dorm.'

'We have fires, up in Gryffindor. Plenty of them. I've noticed it's lacking down here.'

'Salazar...' Draco began to explain, but was interrupted.

'Didn't believe warmth conductive to the Slytherins' learning. I know. I read it in Hogwarts: a History.' He rolled his eyes, pushing the covers completely aside.

'I'll get you a jumper.'

Draco felt the urge to avert his gaze as Hermione pulled the oversized grey Arran over her pyjamas, expecting that it wouldn't even come down to mid-thigh on her. The resulting image in his mind was tempting. There was the creak of the mattress as Hermione climbed back onto his bed, and he glanced across at her. She had wrapped his blankets around her legs, then placed another throw over her shoulders. 'I guess I'll just sit here then,' he muttered to himself, tapping the wooden stool with a forefinger. 'So why are you here?'

'I can't make any sense out of Viktor's words. I must have looked through the journal a dozen times and still can't find anything relating to a dragon.'

'You came all the way down here to tell me that?' He asked, incredulous. 'How did you even get in here?'

'Dobby showed me the way,' she replied, as if it were obvious, 'and let me into your room. I need you to help me figure this out. I brought down some books I thought might be useful, so we could look through them at a faster pace.'

'You're trying to tell me that thing you have on...' he gestured to her pyjamas, which were now comfortably hidden by three layers of blankets, 'has pockets?' He pouted. 'I don't want to look at any books which have been down your pants, Granger.' She held up a small beaded purse.

'Shrinking spell. Seriously, Malfoy, are you sure you're a wizard?'

* * *

A particularly loud creak caused Malfoy to jump awake, his head slamming up into a desk lamp. He swore under his breath and rubbed the bump, which had at least settled down from the previous impact. He closed the large book which lay open on the desk in front of him and glanced back at the bed. Hermione had also fallen asleep at some point, her sparsely-clad form twined around his blankets. A large book took the place of his pillow. 'Oh, bloody hell...' he whispered.


	13. Chapter 13

The Harry Potter universe and its characters are the sole property of J. K. Rowling. I profit in no way from borrowing them below, and am in no way claiming ownership.

* * *

Hermione had escaped the Slytherin dormitories the next morning. She had left alongside Malfoy and a group of other Slytherin students, albeit shrouded in the invisibility cloak. When she had awoke that morning, Draco had seemed less than impressed about giving up his bed but did not tease her about it like she had expected. In fact, his manner towards her in general seemed to be softening slightly - fewer and fewer comments he made were sarcastic, and sometimes he even seemed to be being _nice_ to her. It was a possible complication in their relationship at Hogwarts that she didn't want to inspect too closely yet.

She broke away from the group of students, ducking into an alcove. Once they were out of sight she felt safe enough to pull off the invisibility cloak. It was at that point she was thankful for her organisational skills. Since the debacle in first year, where her dirty robes hindered her enjoying any of the Halloween feast, she had begun to carry a spare set of robes at all times. They had finally come in handy, even if they were a bit stiff from lack of use. She checked the coast was clear then left the alcove, resuming her path to breakfast.

Ginny was waiting anxiously on the stairs of the foyer, inspecting the faces of all who passed her on their way to the great hall. It wasn't until Hermione turned the corner and moved to head into breakfast that she sprung into action. The young Weasley leapt forward, running across the foyer and grabbed Hermione's arm. Hermione found herself being frog-marched back down the corridor with considerable force, considering Ginny's small stature, out of sight of the breakfasting students. 'What's wrong, Ginny?' She asked in surprise. Ginny released her grip.

'Is there something you want to tell me?'

'Like what?' She replied, genuinely surprised.

'Hermione, Viktor's been telling everyone.' Hermione blanched.

'... Telling everyone what?' Ginny shook her head, pityingly.

'He said...' She paused, then decided to continue in the same manner as removing a Band-Aid - it was better to rip it off quick. 'He said he saw you kissing Malfoy in a broom cupboard last night.'

'What?' Hermione tried to laugh it off, but was thoroughly unconvincing. 'Why would he say something like that?' Her feigned amusement faltered at the flat expression Ginny gave her in return. 'You don't believe him, do you?'

'I know that you and Malfoy have been acting weird for days now. You keep disappearing without telling anyone. You weren't in your bed this morning.'

'Ginny,' Hermione reprimanded, shocked at the insinuation. 'You know it's not like that. Come on.' Ginny suddenly seemed unsure, taking the strange Viktor's words as gospel over those of her friend and mentor. _There could be an explanation for this,_ she reasoned with herself, but had no opportunity to ask. Ron and Harry were descending the staircase behind Hermione's back, and it was clear that they had seen the pair. Noticing Ginny's worried look, Hermione also turned to glance behind. Harry made eye-contact with her then averted his gaze, whilst Ron appeared to look right through her. As they got closer the two boys stopped speaking, and Ron deliberately bashed his shoulder into Hermione's as if he hadn't seen her. 'Ron,' Hermione called after him pleadingly, but to no avail. Her stomach clenched and she felt bile rising up at the back of her throat, the full force of her betrayal hitting her. 'Please Ginny,' she tried to reason, 'It's not how it looks. We were just following a lead for the school paper.'

'Which necessitated snogging Malfoy? The boy who has relentlessly teased us all, whose family tried to kill me two years ago?' She replied in disbelief.

'We were trapped in the cupboard,'

'And what, you thought you could snog your way out of there?' Hermione grimaced at how ludicrous the entire scenario seemed now.

'You don't understand,' Hermione tried to plead.

'No, I don't understand,' she agreed. 'What's wrong with you?' Ginny turned to leave but Hermione reached out, grabbing her arm to stop her.

'Viktor's part of an evil cult, Ginny.' Ginny shook herself free of the grip and stared back at her, dubious. 'They're called the Order of the Grendelmages. I found out they were having a meeting here in the castle, so we followed them. They're preparing for the coming of the dragon.' Ginny's anger faltered.

'Did Malfoy tell you this?' She shook her head,

'Draco and I found one of their old journals in the library, documenting their meetings...' Something changed in Ginny's expression.

'Who else was at this meeting the other night?'

'The other Durmstrang students and Karkaroff.'

'Oh, no, Hermione,' Ginny's mouth fell open to form a small 'o', and she looked at Hermione in horror.

'What?'

'The first task is dragons. They were probably just discussing tactics. Charlie's looking after the dragons in the forest.' Hermione was silent. 'Draco's played you like a fool.'


	14. Chapter 14

The Harry Potter universe and its characters are the sole property of J. K. Rowling. By using them below I am in no way claiming ownership.

* * *

Hermione was humiliated. Ron and Harry had clearly shown their distaste, blanking her as they passed in the corridor. She supposed their negative reaction was understandable. She could understand anger after all, they had hated Malfoy since first year - and not without reason. It was Ginny's words which had stung the most, however. _Draco's played you like a fool._ The statement had been laced with pity and regret, as if Ginny could have saved Hermione from herself. The whole situation didn't seem real somehow, but the curious and horrified glances which had been thrown Hermione's way since then confirmed it. Fighting back tears, she ran from the entrance of the great hall and back to her sanctuary.

The Gryffindor common room was empty, to her relief, with most of the students happily tucking into their breakfasts below. She collapsed into the chair beside the fire and stared hard at the embers, willing her tears to stay hidden. _How could I have been so stupid?_ Re-examining their time together, she realised Malfoy had said as much to her in the library. 'I can't believe you're meant to be the smartest girl in our year,' she repeated. Had he been mocking her all along?

Then the doubt came - the all-consuming, selfish doubt. _If he hated me so much, he wouldn't have let me get close to him. He kissed me back in the broom cupboard. He didn't kick me out of his dormitory. He was nice to me..._

 _Nice?_ The negative voice in her head responded. _He's a Malfoy. He doesn't know the meaning of the word. This has all just been some big game to him, seeing how far he could push you, how much he could humiliate you. You're pathetic._

 _But sometimes, the way she thought he looked at her..._

 _Exactly! How you thought he looked at you!_ Hermione's face crumpled up and she felt the first tear roll down her cheek. _You were a fool to trust him._

 _Now everything was ruined. How could Harry ever forgive her? How could Ron?_

Neville suddenly appeared on the dormitory stairs, tripping on the penultimate step and narrowly avoiding a coffee table. Hermione was shocked out of her pity-party, and quickly rubbed away the water from her cheeks. Neville straightened himself up and brushed off his robes as if nothing had happened, then paused when he spotted Hermione. 'Oh, hello,' he offered cheerfully. 'Is breakfast cancelled?'

'I'm not feeling well,' she admitted. If Neville had already heard the news somehow, he showed no sign of it.

'I slept in. Forgot to put an alarm on.'

'Could you perhaps tell the teachers I won't be in class, and get my assignments?' Neville nodded cheerfully.

'Sure. You really do look terrible, now I see. Well,' he said, still smiling, 'bye then.'

'Bye Neville.'

* * *

Hermione allowed herself no more time to mope once Neville had left, and instead used the morning to catch-up on the work she expected to miss in that days' classes - plus a little extra besides. By throwing herself into her studies she was able to suppress the conflicting emotions, a practice she was becoming increasingly comfortable with.

A tapping at the windowpane knocked her out of her rhythm. She clambered from her bed and over to the windowpane, abandoning the Ancient Runes essay, and opened the narrow entrance. Hedwig, Harry's owl, dropped a dead mouse through the gap and gave her a smug hoot. Hermione grimaced, but tried to sound grateful. 'Ah, thank you, Hedwig.' The owl cocked its head at her, then with a slight turn to face the breeze, relaxed itself into a snooze. An idea suddenly struck Hermione.

 _How dare Malfoy think himself better than me. If he wants to play, then fine - I'll play. I'll play and I'll win._


	15. Chapter 15

Author's note: I'm not sure whether 'flack' in this context is British slang. It's when you're teased relentlessly for something, usually by people of your own age (Google says it doesn't exist but I swear it does).

The Harry Potter universe and all its characters are the sole property of J. K. Rowling. I do not own them in any way.

* * *

Hermione paced behind Hagrid's cabin, suddenly uncertain as to where this night would lead. Her plan so far was purely hypothetical - after all, there were so many variables to play with. If they swung her way, Hermione's misdemeanours would be forgotten in the eyes of her fellow Gryffindors, while Draco's humiliation would be never-ending. The kind of humiliation which would be wheeled-out at parties for the rest of his natural existence. Of course, if the odds weren't in her favour... _No_ , she shook her head. This was the time for angry Hermione, not logical, and it wasn't like she could make herself any more of a social pariah than she was already.

The bells of the clock tower rang out, heralding the end of classes. All other students would now be free to complete their homework or socialise until the evening's meal... all except herself and Malfoy. Hermione peered around the corner of the hut, searching at a distance for Draco as students piled out of the main building. Her brief note demanding their meeting had been carried by Hedwig hours earlier, and had received a simple 'yes' in response. He would arrive any minute now.

The scheme had come to her in a very matter-of-fact way - it was a simple 'what would Fred and George do?' which had inspired the plan. Hermione had then spent the next few hours passionate in her preparation, the tightly bound scroll in her pocket a testament to the fact. It had been manufactured from a combination of Medieval etchings, a German-English dictionary and a pot of Zonko's instant-aging ink. The counterfeited piece of Grendelmage history would hopefully be enough to fool Draco, just as his journal had fooled her.

Naturally, Malfoy arrived ten minutes late to their agreed rendezvous in the pumpkin patch, but the additional time had allowed Hermione to strengthen her resolve. She was still struck by his ability to lie however, with his expression and stature a near-convincing apology for his tardiness. While she had previously prided herself for her honesty, Hermione was determined to enjoy this encounter. 'You weren't in class today,' Draco stated, his hands buried in his pockets.

'No, I wasn't feeling well.' He frowned and sat down, his pumpkin perch giving her a quick flashback to their previous meeting at the allotment.

'Is it because of what Viktor's been saying?' She pushed the flashback aside. 'I've been getting flack all day about it,' he added with a scowl. 'Pansy's broken up with me. Couldn't believe that you overpowered me,' the scowl turned to a gentle smile. _Oh, he's good_ , Hermione thought to herself.

'It's not because of Viktor.' She reached into her robes and extracted the scroll. 'I did a bit more digging in the library and found something on the coming of the dragon.' She studied his reaction, searching for any flicker of surprise, but found only curiosity. This was the first variable - had he truly understood the significance of the Durmstrang students' words? She handed the scroll across, then moved to stand over his shoulder as he unfurled it, monitoring his body language.

'This looks... ominous.' Hermione had gone to great effort to ensure the fact. Inked dragons swirled around the page as a border, within the centre of which she had replicated the runic circle from the journal. The witch stretching across the circle was now altered, the lifelike figure now bound at wrist and feet, a blindfold across her eyes. Hermione had also added a few athames, magical double-edged knives, to really add shock value. The text was ornate and German, with a few signatures from the earliest portion of the journal forged for good measure.

'I've only had a chance to translate the first few passages,' she said, leaning over his shoulder to point them out. Draco was enveloped by the scent of old books and spearmint toothpaste, what seemed to be Hermione's unique scent, and found himself readjusting the position of the scroll across his lap. _She's so close_ , his body seemed to plead, and he ended up biting the inside of his cheek to try and maintain rational thought. 'It's instructions for a ritual,' Hermione continued, oblivious. 'A ritual to bring about the dragon. They talk about selecting an Opfer, a victim to sacrifice to the dragon. They need to mark her for the ceremony.' Hermione straightened. 'Kind of like sending flowers to a girl to tell her you like her.' Draco glanced up at her, then back to the paper in front of him.

'You don't really think...'

'There are some kind of dark creatures involved as well, but I haven't been able to translate the words right.' Draco shook his head, standing up and pushing the scroll back at Hermione.

'Come on. An evil ritual sacrificing a witch, to bring about some sort of apocalypse-type scenario?' He looked incredulous, but she relished at the suggestion of fear around his eyes. 'It has to be nonsense. Where did you even find this? You said you'd searched the library twice and found nothing.'

'Not in the restricted section, I hadn't,' she quickly interjected. 'Look, Malfoy, things are serious. I had a lot of free time to wander around today under the cloak, and I saw Igor Karkaroff go into the forbidden forest.' She pointed over his shoulder at the trees behind him. _Come on_ , she wished, _any time now._ 'You heard the meeting the other night. They're going to take a student again, just like they did at Durmstrang in 1911.' As if hearing her plea, the dragons imprisoned deep within the forest began to stir. Roars and grumbles seeped out of the darkness and she saw Draco noticeably stiffen, then pale. Turning his back to her, he stared at the trees, and gripped Hermione's wrist.

'What's that?' He asked, his voice trembling.

'I don't know,' she replied, injecting fear into her own voice. She gripped him back in return. 'Draco, I think something really bad is going to happen at Hogwarts. Soon.' A large roar erupted from the trees, sending a flock of pigeons and Draco into flight mode. He bolted for the castle, dragging her with him. Hermione thanked Ginny and perfect timing, which had ensured the rendezvous with Draco had coincided with Charlie's feeding schedule.

It looked like her plan might work after all.


	16. Chapter 16

The Harry Potter universe and its characters are the sole property of J. K. Rowling. By using them below I am in no way claiming them as my own.

* * *

Everything was coming together nicely. Once Draco had regained his breath at the top of the hill he had reacted exactly as Hermione had predicted. First, there was shock. This was quickly substituted for bravado, then an overwhelming desire to forget they had seen or researched anything to do with the mysterious cult. He had even insisted that 'if we pretend they're not there, they might go away.' Unsurprisingly, Draco never brought up the possibility of telling a teacher. This further confirmed his trick with the journal in Hermione's eyes, and cut through any premature guilt she might feel. Despite this resolve, however, she found it difficult to laugh with the other girls after relaying their meeting.

Katie Bell was the first to stop laughing, and being one of the more senior members of their group, the others followed soon after. They were all sat in semi-darkness for the covert gathering, in the privacy of Hermione's dormitory. Katie leant forward, 'so, you think he'll translate the rest of the scroll?' The other girls - Ginny, Lavender, Padma and Parvati - looked to Hermione expectantly. They had all been sympathetic to her plight and as Draco wasn't particularly well liked in Gryffindor circles, were happy to aid her revenge. Their involvement would allow the entire plan to be pulled off, but still, she found their amusement about the entire thing sobering, and simply shrugged in response to Katie's question.

'Of course he will,' Lavender insisted, taking the reigns. 'The ritual has probably been playing on his mind for days. Then tonight! How he must have looked with all those monstrous noises coming out of the forest. Oh, I wish I could see his expression tomorrow!'

'You'll see it at the main event,' Padma chimed in, and both fell into fits of giggles. The others joined in, but Ginny noticed the change in Hermione's features.

'Hey,' she asked quietly, as Parvati began to do her best Malfoy imitations. 'Are you feeling OK?'

'I'm just tired.' Ginny nodded, reading deeper into the statement. She clapped her hands together to regain the other girls' attention.

'It's getting late guys, and you know we have a lot to do tomorrow. We should get some sleep.' Lavender and Parvati were unhappy at having their fun spoiled, but all obliged.

* * *

Draco had found himself in a most bizarre situation. _I mean_ , he thought to himself, _how likely is it that the Grendelmages really were at Hogwarts?_ It's true, the Durmstrang students had behaved in a most suspicious manner at their meeting, and Igor Karkaroff certainly had a reputation, but... _really?_ Draco had taken the journal from his father's study with the best of intentions, yet that had somehow summoned the modern-day Grendelmages to his school? And to top it off, Hermione's recent discovery in the library had revealed their plan to kidnap and sacrifice a student! The whole thing seemed like some gigantic, cosmic joke.

 _And yet..._

Those noises from the forbidden forest had been real enough. The scroll made mention of dark creatures, and there certainly seemed to be some at the school. The way that Hermione had gripped his arm in fear, well, that was certainly real too. He sighed, turning in his bed. What he'd give for her to touch him again, without a premise. He felt truly pathetic.

 _Tomorrow_ , he resolved, _I'll prove myself. I'll translate that scroll and help Hermione sort this out._ If Viktor had to be taken care of, well, who was really going to miss the guy's abs?

He rolled over again, giving the pillow a punch for good measure. _Tomorrow, Hermione and I will try to overthrow an archaic cult and their evil designs._ He sighed. _This is not what I signed up for._


	17. Chapter 17

The Harry Potter universe and its characters are the sole property of J. K. Rowling. By using them below, I am in no way trying to claim ownership.

* * *

Draco's dreams had been broken, shattered glimpses of misery which he couldn't help but feel foreshadowed the coming day. Giving up on sleep a few hours before daybreak, he had spent the dawn poring over the Grendelmage scroll. Hermione's recount of its contents the day before had certainly been grim, but his own translations revealed that she had given him the fluffy-bunny version. There was nothing fluffy about this ritual. Even with respect to his upbringing and general proximity to the darker side of magic, this document made his stomach turn. He didn't want to dwell on the details of the horror which would be inflicted on an innocent student should himself and Hermione fail in their task.

Hermione had sent word for them to meet at the office of the _Wizarding Student Times_ during their lunchbreak, this time via an enchanted paper plane. From what Draco had observed, the other Gryffindor students were still giving her a wide berth. In contrast, the other Slytherins had been much more lenient on Draco, assuming he had manipulated and embarrassed the witch on purpose. Well, all except Pansy, his now ex-girlfriend. _If only Blaise or the others had been there_ , he thought, bemused. What a different opinion they might have of him then. Of course, his encounters with Hermione so far had not been much to brag about - she had made it clear that each stolen kiss was merely a means to an end, a way to achieve the story McGonagall wanted to read.

A snore from the paper's resident ghost knocked Draco from his reverie. He narrowed his eyes at Agorbius. 'If it wasn't for you telling her to take that polyjuice potion,' he said pointedly, 'things wouldn't be so complicated now.' The dozing ghost, naturally, made no reply. Draco scowled and picked up the nearest book, which appeared to be on the topic of Medieval art, and flung it squarely at the spectre. The ghost started in the chair, the movement causing its ghostly newspaper to dissipate into the ether. Draco was confronted by the ghost's true face. 'But...' Draco stammered.

'Braggard!' Nearly-headless Nick hurled, floating to his feet. His hands moved forward, fists in a boxing stance. 'Wake the dead, I say! Do you challenge me to a duel?' Draco backed up, his escape route blocked by Hermione's desk. It was either surrender his inadvertent challenge and be branded a coward, or take the fifty foot plunge out the window. 'What-ho, boy! Answer me.'

'I'm thinking,' Draco insisted, seriously weighing up the options. He suddenly frowned. 'Where's Agorbius?'

'Agorbius? Agorbius who?'

'Agorbius... he was a writer here.'

'A student?'

'No, a ghost.'

'Pish,' Nick dismissed the suggestion with a rather violent wave of his arm, causing his head to tilt from his neck. He pushed it back into place easily, 'I know everything, every ghost in this castle. Do you run from the duel, Sir Mouse?' Draco was about to protest his innocence, but Nick's attention had been absorbed by the ceiling. 'Oh no,' he muttered to himself. 'He's found me.' The ghost reached out into thin air, causing the re-apparition of his paper, then fled through the wall. Moments later, a loud ripping sound penetrated the silence of the office. Draco, terrified, gripped Hermione's desk.

* * *

Hermione narrowly avoided Peeves on her journey to the office. The poltergeist was clearly preoccupied, singing himself a ditty along the lines of 'Nick, Nick, Nicky Nick Nick, where's that...' before moving through a wall. Not to be side-tracked, she continued down the corridor. It had taken longer than expected, calming Lavender and Parvati's hysterics enough for their next job. The pair were now secreted downstairs, lying in wait behind the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy.

She found Draco with his back against the wall looking distinctly on-edge. Hermione felt a sudden burst of pride at how much terror her counterfeited Grendelmage scroll had inflicted. _Serves him right_. She closed the door behind her and slipped her right hand into her robes, anticipating the next stage of her plan. 'Did you read the scroll?' She asked, serious.

'I've never seen anything like it.'

'Gruesome, I know.' Draco narrowed his eyes at her easy dismissal, and Hermione realised she'd faltered in her act. 'I've been having nightmares since I found it,' she added, trying to look traumatised.

'I haven't really slept,' he admitted, with a voice which sounded more than physically tired.

'I've been thinking - I don't think the group has enough members, with just the Durmstrang students. They might bring in others, powerful wizards from outside the grounds. At least two more, to complete the circle.'

'Outsiders can't get into the grounds...'

'I know... but they can get into Hogsmeade.'

'Do we know who they'll go for?' She bit her lip,

'Somebody not of pureblood stock. There's a lot of choice.'

He ran a hand through his blonde hair. 'What if we're getting in too deep?' This was not a question she wanted to hear.

'We can't tell a teacher,' she insisted. 'Draco, they'll never believe us, and by the time we've convinced them... look at the last time, with Ginny. We could be too late.'

'But you're not seriously suggesting what I think you're suggesting? We don't even know when they plan to carry out this ceremony.'

'We'll just have to figure it out. Once they've marked their victim, we'll know who to watch.'

A sudden thumping at the door made them both jump, even though Hermione had been expecting it. She pulled her hand from her robe and pointed her wand towards the door, moving closer to Draco. 'Who is it?' He shouted.

There was no reply.

'Did you lock the door?' He whispered, concerned. She shot a terrified look at him then returned her focus to the door, giving a quick _swish_ of her wand to look as if she were casting the _Alohamora_ incantation. The windowpane behind the pair began to rattle with such intensity that the glass cracked, while all manner of odds-and-ends began to tumble from the desks. Draco inched closer to her, removing his own wand for protection.

The door burst open, slamming against the wall with a shock-wave that sent both her and Draco to the floor. He was the first to gather his wits and look up at the doorway. A robed figure stood silently at the threshold, until they didn't. Draco pushed himself up and ran into the corridor, just in time to see the robed figure disappear around the corner. He moved to give chase when foreign words were shouted behind him. A second robed figure disappeared in the opposite direction to the first.

'Draco...' the terrified outburst from Hermione sent him back to the office in a frenzy. She had managed to move herself into a sitting position but was staring fixedly at the door, wide-eyed and trembling. There, in what appeared to be blood, the title 'Ed. H. Granger' had been circled. 'It's the mark. The mark for the chosen.'


	18. Chapter 18

The Harry Potter universe and its characters are the sole property of J. K. Rowling. By using them below I am in no way claiming ownership.

* * *

'We shouldn't be doing this,' Draco insisted, stopping Hermione for the seventh time on their journey to Hogsmeade. His feigned concern was really starting to get on her nerves.

'Draco, someone's going to see us together,' she hissed. Her patience had worn out. 'You know why we're doing this.'

Malfoy could hardly argue with her logic. While he might not care about her precarious position with Ron and Harry, his reputation could be irreparably damaged if he were seen hovering over her protectively in the school. The idea that Malfoy would be required to save her should an abduction be attempted was an easy idea to sow, which had made Hermione seethe further. As if the unseasoned Slytherin could be handier in a fight than her. She'd proven her worth many times over, even taking on a werewolf last year, but that hardly mattered. _He sees me as a silly little girl. It'll just make proving him wrong sweeter_.

Their destination was the Three Broomsticks. Hermione could meet up with Ginny and Padma for a butterbeer, while Draco could sit inconspicuous at the bar. With so many onlookers, it was unlikely an attempt would be made on Hermione's life by the Grendelmages. Of course, Hermione had already ascertained that Viktor and his fellow students were spending their Wednesday afternoon trekking the surrounding hills with Dumbledore, but how was Draco to know that? Lavender Brown, whilst being annoyingly immature to Hermione, had certainly proved her use in gaining Viktor's confidence.

* * *

Hermione made Draco sit at the bar while her, Ginny and Padma enjoyed three rounds of butterbeers. The wizard was starting to look distinctly bored. She took a final sip of her drink then leant across the other table to the two girls. 'I think it's time.' Padma shot Ginny a nod of approval and the young Weasley stood up with Hermione. The pair began a torturous route through the tables and students to the women's bathroom. Catching Draco's inquisitive gaze, she gave him a subtle hand-gesture to show everything was OK.

Once both girls were in the bathroom, Ginny set to work. Hermione helped apply the muggle costume make-up, creating the impression that Ginny had been struck in the temple. A little fake blood was dabbed onto a tissue, which the Weasley would then hold against her head to appear more convincing. Hermione glanced back at the bathroom door. 'Padma should be on her way now. You're OK?' Ginny nodded,

'Good to go.'

* * *

Drinking alone held no charms for Malfoy, having lived through the effects of firewhiskey after his father's binges. Lucius Malfoy had been increasingly introspective since the summer, spending even more time in his study with a bottle, and as of yet Draco had heard little from him since term started. Admittedly, this lack of communication was not unusual, but it had began to seep into his mother's contact with him. Her letters were increasingly vague and weather-centric, to the point that Draco had put off reading them. If there were some hidden message in her play-by-play account of the weather, well... he had never been predisposed to pathetic fallacy.

Watching over Hermione in the pub had been a vexatious task. At first he enjoyed the freedom of watching her, relishing in every smile or laugh. She was so at ease and certain of herself in front of them. Once the girls were on their second round, however, he began to feel jealous - they had her company, while he was consigned to the loneliness of the bar. By the third round he had escaped into daydreams, reliving his first encounter with the school paper, but spicing it up with a new ending. The real Hermione standing up had distracted him at a key moment, and while he wasn't exactly happy that she was disappearing from his sight, he could hardly stop her. _At least she's taking Ginny_.

* * *

 _They're taking their time_ , Draco thought to himself. Even Padma had begun to look abandoned, sending searching looks around the other students for her friends. Draco dismissed Madam Rosmerta's attempt to take his glass with a look, becoming increasingly concerned. Thankfully, Padma must have had a similar train of thought, and got up herself to chase after the pair.

Just as Padma reached the bathroom, Ginny stumbled out of the door. The red-headed Weasley was holding a bundle of tissues to her head and was leaning heavily on the Patil girl. _Is that... blood?_ Draco pushed himself up from the stool and moved towards the pair, pushing aside any loitering student which happened to get in his way, his heart racing.

'Where's Hermione?' He demanded. Padma scowled at him, supporting Ginny. The young witch was visibly shaken.

'Somebody attacked us. When I came to, she wasn't there. She didn't come out?' She asked, the panicked question aimed at Padma.

'Where did they go?' Draco grabbed Ginny, cutting off Padma's response. He forced the girl to look at him. 'Where did they take her?'

'I don't know,' she began to cry. Draco released his hold and she fell back into the other girl's arms.

'What did they look like, Ginny?' Padma asked more gently.

'They were wearing a dark cloak, the hood up. I didn't see their face...'

'I didn't see anyone dressed like that,' Padma replied, glancing around the bar. Draco quickly scanned with her, certain that no witch or wizard had passed him. The realisation hit him and he abandoned the pair, running for the back exit.

Malfoy was barely out the door when the curse hit him.


	19. Chapter 19

The Harry Potter universe and its characters are the sole property of J. K. Rowling. By using them below, I am in no way claiming ownership.

* * *

Hermione felt Draco stir beside her. The two of them had been blindfolded and tied by their wrists to a thick metal post, imprisoned in preparation for the Grendelmage ceremony. Hermione had insisted that she be bewitched unconscious, so that Draco might wake up first and panic, but her temporary sleeping spell had broken before his. She had pulled her blindfold off with a little manoeuvring and had been impressed by the effort the Gryffindor girls had expended setting up the fake ritual. Admittedly, she had expected them to use the Shrieking Shack as it had the benefit of pre-made atmosphere, but this cave was certainly working on the spooky front. Candles flickered in various alcoves, the silence broken by the occasional drip, drip, drip. _We must be somewhere in the hills above Hogsmeade,_ she thought to herself.

'Mm...' Draco stirred again, catching her attention. The young wizard tensed upon awakening, then began to pull at his bindings. He began to shout, but Hermione shushed him. 'Hermione?'

'Hold still,' she tried to angle her bound hands closer to his face, fingers straining to reach his blindfold. 'You're going to have to lean over to me. I'll remove the blindfold.' He obeyed, her warm fingers coming into contact with cool flesh. He found himself inhaling slowly, finding peace in her touch. That peace was shattered as the reality of their situation was revealed. He scanned the gloomy cave, then their bindings.

'What is this?' He asked, frightened. His face was still in contact with Hermione's fingers, and she quickly pulled them away as much as the bindings allowed. Draco tugged once more at the post, the fear in his eyes real. This instigated a wave of guilt in Hermione. Her plan had been incredibly petty and not the act of a true Gryffindor. She'd stooped to the level of a Slytherin, and not only that, let Draco get to her. How could she possibly go through with the grand finale, her fake sacrifice, now? The other girls would probably be angry at her and ostracise her further, but this was not the person she wanted to be. Draco had noticed the conflicting waves of emotion in her and stopped his attempts to escape. 'Hermione?'

'You're infuriating,' she replied with a half-hearted scowl. A hooded figure walked into view at the far side of the cave, ignoring them. He picked up what appeared to be a bag from the floor and began searching through it. Hermione dismissed this and returned her gaze back to Draco, who was staring fixedly at the newcomer.

'Hermione,' he whispered from the side of his mouth. 'My wand's in a hidden pocket in my robes. If you can reach in there, I know a spell to get us loose and deal with him.'

'You thought you could trick me, placing that Grendelmage journal in my hands.' He glanced quickly at her, then back at their oppressor.

'This isn't the time for this now.' She rolled her eyes.

'Oh, you think you're soooo smart. I could never trick you.'

'Hermione,' he insisted, 'my wand.'

'We don't need your wand. I set this up.'

'What?' This caught Draco's full attention, but his tone was still one of disbelief.

'I made that scroll in an afternoon. Those durmstrang students were talking about the first task. Nobody's going to sacrifice me to get a dragon.' _It was totally ridiculous and unbelievable anyway, you moron_ , she added in her head.

'Then who's that?' He glanced back at the lone figure, who was pulling a multitude of items from the bag in an increasingly frustrated manner.

'I had Ginny and a few others dress up. They were going to pretend to sacrifice me so they could watch you freak out.'

'What others?'

'Ginny, Lavender, Padma and Parvati.'

'No boys?' Draco frowned, 'not Ron?'

'No.'

'... Then who's that?' He repeated, this time with greater emphasis. Hermione now turned her gaze back to the figure eviscerating her purse. The large, bulkish frame didn't immediately match to any of the Gryffindors she had enlisted. The figure chucked the purse to the ground and took a step forward, the candlelight revealing a red-headed, bearded brute of a man. He pointed at the purse.

'Where is it?' The voice was thick with an unfamiliar accent. He extracted a wand from his robes and pointed it at the pair threateningly. 'Where have you put the almanac?'

The guilt disappeared, replaced by shock, and she found herself struggling to comprehend the situation. The wizard moved quickly at them, grabbing Draco by the collar and pulling him from the floor. 'Please,' she screeched. 'I know where it is!' The wizard dropped Draco, who began gasping for air against the stone floor.

'Where is it, girly?' Their attacker's wand was now focussed squarely on her. 'If you lie to me...'

'I left it at the Three Broomsticks. It's hidden in the cistern of the second stall, girl's bathroom.' The lie came to her easily, and she bit her tongue to hide the surprise. His wand moved in response, sending a cascade of small rocks flying down behind the pair.

'I don't play games. If I find out you've lied to me, I'll...'

'What? Kill us slower?' Draco gurgled, his throat still sore. The wizard laughed.

'Yes, exactly that. Your boyfriend's full of bright ideas, girly.' Hermione spoke before she could bite her tongue,

'He's not my boyfriend.' The wizard sent a second round of rocks flying out of the wall behind them.

'I didn't ask for backchat. Now, you going to change your answer?'

'Nah,' Draco replied, 'I don't think she'll go out with me.' Their oppressor knelt down in front of them and picked up a rock.

'I don't think you two realise the seriousness of the situation. Do you see this rock?' It floated away from his hand and began to turn slowly in the air. 'If you don't tell me where the almanac is, then...' the rock zoomed out of his hand and smashed against the cave wall. 'You're that rock.'

'She already told you where the book is,' Draco spat, pushing himself up into a sitting position. The wizard straightened.

'If I find out you've lied to me, witch, I'll kill your pretty boy first.' The man shot Hermione a final threatening look then departed.

'Unbelievable,' Draco sighed.

'I have no clue who that man is,' Hermione replied.

'Not that. The fact you thought I didn't know about the scroll.' Her face dropped and Draco sat there, smug. 'Oh come on, you really think that I couldn't tell the real thing? Do you know how many dark artefacts I've seen?' He glanced around the cave, amused. 'I was wondering how you were going to play it. This wasn't really what I had in mind.'

'Seriously, Draco, I have no clue who that man is.' He looked at her pityingly,

'I've seen him before in Knockturn Alley. If you've lied about where the journal is, well... to say he'll be pissed is putting it lightly.'

'Draco, it's not at the pub.' Hermione was surprised at his sudden smile.

'Ha, so he might come back pissed in both senses of the word.'

'This is not the time for you to be stupid,' she hissed. 'I've maybe bought us twenty minutes, if we're on the outskirts of Hogsmeade. Are you sure you have your wand in your robes?'


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's note:** In a bizarre twist of fate, I was listening to Ryuichi Sakamoto's Forbidden Colours whilst writing the latter portion of this chapter. It really catches the tone I was going for, if you'd like a soundtrack.

The Harry Potter universe and its characters are the sole property of J. K. Rowling. By using them below, I am in no way claiming ownership.

* * *

'No... no... no...' Draco said, his voice a bored monotone. Hermione narrowed her eyes, retracting her hand from his robes.

'How about you be a bit more helpful and tell me _specifically_ where this pocket is?' Draco smirked back at her. He had forced himself up into a semi-standing position, which was as much as his wrist bindings allowed.

'There'll be a button holding it closed on the underneath,' he sighed. 'Just undo it and it'll fall out.'

'Hmph.' Hermione returned her hands, roaming the fabric around his waistband for anything resembling a pocket. 'If that man doesn't come back and kill you, Draco,' she said, continuing her search, 'I might just do it myself.' Her fingertips brushed over a button, and she began to work it open.

'Wrong wand! Wrong wand!' Draco recoiled, shouting at her. She frowned, uncomprehending. Draco fumbled about the top of his trousers, struggling to button them back up, and the realisation hit her. He spotted her horrified look and began to laugh.

'That's not funny!' She sent a swift kick at his shins, making him fall to the floor with a heavy _thwuck_ , but this didn't affect his amusement. 'I'm definitely going to kill you,' she muttered under her breath.

Once Draco had his laughter in check, he resumed the position. Hermione was determined to be less careful with her nails this time, hoping a few good jabs might detract from her groping.

'Third time's a charm,' Draco sighed, as her hands finally found and released the _right_ wand. Hermione angled the Hawthorn as best she could to release Draco's wrists, her spell causing the thick hessian to crumble into dust. Draco rubbed his wrists gratefully and took back his wand with a mischievous grin.

'Well, it's been fun Granger.' Hermione's face dropped.

'You're not seriously going to leave me here?' He shrugged.

'You look like a nice little peace offering, all bound up like that. Maybe Tuomas will settle for you and not chase after the journal any further.' He ran a hand through his blonde locks.

'You evil, conniving little...' A quick flick of his wrist and her bindings fell apart.

'Always so quick to paint me as the bad guy.' Scowling, she pushed herself up and grabbed her purse.

'We need to leave.' She was adamant not to indulge Draco any further. _Just get out of here and never speak to the silly boy again._ He held his hand out towards her, and she hesitated.

'What are you going to do?'

'Do you trust me?' He asked in reply, their eyes meeting.

'As if,' she replied with a snort. His gaze didn't falter. 'Fine.' She placed her hand in his.

Draco led them from the cave with relative ease and confirmed Hermione's belief they were still in Hogsmeade. The pair found themselves near the crest of a large hill, with the small village lying at its base. Hermione picked out the Three Broomsticks from the ramshackle collection of buildings. 'He'll come after us,' she stated, her lip trembling.

'I have a plan.'

The wizard Draco had identified as Tuomas returned to the cave fifteen minutes later. Hermione and Draco, camouflaged by a collection of gorse bushes alongside the entrance, had been able to watch his slow progress up the hill. They were also close enough to hear his angry outburst when he realised the pair had escaped.

Draco began to pull away from her, out of the protection of the bushes. 'Draco...' she whispered after him, panicked. He smirked back at her, placing a finger against his lips to ask for silence. She watched in terror as he moved in full view of the cave mouth, his wand gripped in his right hand. A small explosion at the top of the cave entrance sent a cascade of rocks tumbling down, followed by a partial landslide which wiped the cavern from the hill's topography. Hermione disentangled herself from the gorse and moved besides him, staring at his handiwork. 'You killed him,'

'Nah,' Draco placed his wand back in his robes. 'Probably just maimed, or seriously injured.'

* * *

Their walk back into the grounds of Hogwarts was uneventful. The pair had remained silent until they were in full view of the castle, their relationship with one another contorted into something new. How could you go from hating someone with your entire being to this? Hermione had been afraid she was getting in too deep with Draco since their encounter at the pumpkin patch. Now she found herself doubting everything, unsure how to even speak to him any more, but she had no choice. She needed to know all the details before she could confront her newfound feelings for him.

Hermione tugged Draco's arm, pulling him to a halt as they reached the bridge. 'Why did you do it?'

'He was going to kill you,' he replied with a nonchalant shrug.

'No, the journal. Why did you trick me?' Draco sighed,

'It wasn't really my intention. I just knew you needed a good story for the paper.' He ran a hand through his hair. 'I thought it might give you some inspiration... the past keeps coming back to haunt this school.'

'But the Durmstrang meeting...'

'That was all your idea. I didn't have a clue that the book was a calendar.'

'It belongs to your dad, doesn't it?' She reached into her purse, extracting the journal in one fell swoop. Draco accepted the book from her, running his hand across the cover whilst avoiding her gaze.

'What can I say?' He asked, feigned amusement barely hiding an unspoken pain. 'No elitist pureblood house can be without one.' Hermione didn't probe further, and the pair resumed the walk into the castle.

'I'm guessing the book had a tracking spell placed on it,' Draco finally offered, breaking the silence.

'It makes sense,' Hermione replied. Draco had begun to smile besides her, returning to his old self.

'So, what did you and Ginny have planned for me?'

'Oh, well, you know,' Hermione blushed, but cast a smirk back at him. 'Your run-of-the-mill human sacrifice.'

'You realise those things are usually done in the nude,' he grinned.

The chatter and movement of other students distracted Hermione's attention. All about them groups of students were gossiping and laughing with one another in the courtyard, completely oblivious to the ordeal both her and Draco had just lived through.

'You realise, Draco, I'm going to have to write an article on this.' Draco stared back at her, incredulous.

Ron suddenly appeared before them, the wizard clearly irate. 'Nice matching scarves,' he spat, tone laced with sarcasm. Draco, confused, glanced down and realised that himself and Hermione still had the blindfolds lying limply around their necks. He held it up with a smirk, and watched as Ron's face contorted into disgust, realising they were not scarves. _That's right, Ronald... think of all the kinky stuff I got up to with your Granger._ Ron spat out a mumble of consonants and stormed off. Hermione watched after him, mildly amused.

'I might leave out some of the details, though,' she added.


	21. Chapter 21

The Harry Potter universe and its characters are the sole property of J. K. Rowling. By using them below, I am in no way claiming ownership.

* * *

McGonagall sipped her tea quietly, her gaze scanning the paper in front of her. Hermione sat on the opposite side of the desk, becoming increasingly worried that the review would not be favourable. The professor placed her teacup down and interlaced her fingers, her expression unreadable.

'Well?' Hermione asked, excited and anxious all at once.

' _The Power of Persuasion..._ ' McGonagall quoted the title. The article was one of Hermione's proudest achievements, retelling hers and Draco's journey with the Grendelmage journal. Naturally, some of the less ethical and PG portions had been modified or cut-out altogether. Draco had proof-read and fiddled the piece further, running with Hermione's idea to suggest their growing feelings for one another before shattering the readers' impressions. The article itself persuaded the readers to believe in a romance between Draco and Hermione which did not exist. Of course, it wasn't how Hermione really felt... but the other students could try and separate the reality from the fiction for themselves. It would at least be easy for her to convince Ron and Harry of her faithfulness to Gryffindor with its publication, while Draco could also restore his reputation. 'You know, Miss Granger, I think I like it.'

THE END

* * *

 **Author's note:** If you've enjoyed this and have the time, I would really appreciate a review/pm - what did you like? What didn't you like? I can then tailor my next work to what people enjoy.

Want more? Check out Hermione Granger and the Yule Review.


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